Forest Land Conversion Ecosystem Services And Economic Issues For Policy

The continued conversion and development of forest land pose a serious threat to the ecosystem services derived from forested landscapes. There are unavoidable challenges involved in quantifying the threats from forest conversion and their related costs to human well-being: (1) most attempts to quantify the costs of forest conversion on ecosystem services will necessarily rely on specific ecological science that is often emerging, changing, or simply nonexistent; (2) given the interconnected nature of ecosystem products and processes, any attempt to quantify the effects of forest conversion must grapple with jointness in production; (3) the ecology and the human dimensions of ecosystems are highly specific to spatial-temporal circumstances.

The continued conversion and development of forest land pose a serious threat to the ecosystem services derived from forested landscapes. We argue that developing an understanding of the full range of consequences from forest conversion requires understanding the effects of such conversion on both components of ecosystem services: products and processes. However, there are unavoidable challenges involved in quantifying the threats from forest conversion and their related costs to human well-being. First, most attempts to quantify the costs of forest conversion on ecosystem services will necessarily rely on specific ecological science that is often emerging, changing, or simply nonexistent. For example, the role that many species play in ecosystem processes is poorly understood. Second, given the interconnected nature of ecosystem products and processes, any attempt to quantify the effects of forest conversion must grapple with jointness in production. For example, the cost of losing a species from forest conversion must account for that species' role as both (1) a product that directly contributes to human well-being, and (2) as a component in an ecosystem process. Finally, the ecology and the human dimensions of ecosystems are highly specific to spatial-temporal circumstances. Consequently, the effects of forest conversion in one spatial-temporal context are likely to be quite different than effects elsewhere.

The world-wide conversion of forest land to commercial and residential use is increasingly affecting the ability of ecosystems to provide basic services to humankind. Conversion of forest land affects both private and public forest ownerships. Predicted increases in population growth over the coming decades are expected to result in steadily increasing fragmentation of currently cohesive forest lands. This development can potentially reduce the goods and services derived from both publicly and privately owned forests. This book uses the ecosystem service conceptual framework as a basis for understanding the ecological effects of forest-land conversion, and as a basis for understanding the economic issues that arise in designing policies to conserve forest ecosystems.

Balancing society's multiple and sometimes competing objectives regarding forests calls for information describing the direct and indirect benefits resulting from forest policy and management, whether to address wildfire, loss of open space, unmanaged recreation, ecosystem restoration, or other objectives. The USDA Forest Service recently has proposed the concept of ecosystem services as a framework for (1) describing the many benefits provided by public and private forests, (2), evaluating the effects of policy and management decisions involving public and private forest lands, and (3) advocating the use of economic and market-based incentives to protect private forest lands from development. The concept extends traditional economic theory regarding multiple forest benefits and the use of economic incentives to enhance their provision, by emphasizing ecosystems as an organizing structure for benefits. Although the emphasis on ecosystems is new, challenges in evaluating ecosystem services are similar to those long faced by economists tasked with evaluating forest benefits: (1) defining a typology of ecosystem services, (2) describing and measuring ecosystem services units or outputs, and (3) describing and measuring ecosystem services per unit of values or social weights. Progress within the Forest Service in applying the ecosystem services concept to forest policy and management will depend on knowing what information will suffice, working across disciplines, deciding on appropriate analytical frameworks, defining the appropriate role of economic and market-based incentives, and adequately funding economics research.

The degradation of ecosystems, including forests, and the associated loss of biodiversity, particularly due to human-induced threats and climate change, has gained increased attention from scientists and policymakers. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment presented a new conceptual framework that puts ecosystem services at the centre and links human well-being to the impacts on ecosystems of changes in natural resources. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity initiative drew further attention to the economic benefits of conserving ecosystems and biodiversity, supporting the idea that economic instruments – if appropriately applied, developed and interpreted – can inform policy- and decision-making processes. Only a few ecosystem services, however, have explicit market value and are traded in open markets: many – especially those categorized as having “passive-use” value – remain invisible and are rarely accounted for in traditional economic systems. The failure to appropriately consider the full economic value of ecosystem services in decision making enables the continued degradation and loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. Most ecosystem services are considered public goods and tend to be overexploited by society. Many methods have been applied to the economic valuation of ecosystem services. The use of these methods, as well as the interpretation of their results, requires familiarity with the ecological, political, normative and socio-economic context and the science of economics. Recognizing, demonstrating and capturing the value of ecosystem services can play an important role in setting policy directions for ecosystem management and conservation and thus in increasing the provision of ecosystem services and their contributions to human well-being. The aim of this manual is to enhance understanding of ecosystem services and their valuation. The specific target group comprises governmental officers in planning units and field-level officers and practitioners in key government departments in Bangladesh responsible for project development, including the Ministry of Environment and Forests and its agencies. Most of the examples and case studies presented herein, therefore, are tailored to the Bangladesh context, but the general concepts, approaches and methods can be applied to a broad spectrum of situations. This manual focuses on valuing forest-related ecosystem services, including those provided by trees outside forests. It is expected to improve valuation efforts and help ensure the better use of such values in policymaking and decision making. Among other things, the manual explores the basics of financial mathematics (e.g. the time value of money; discounting; cost–benefit analysis; and profitability and risk indicators); the main methods of economic valuation; examples of the valuation of selected ecosystem services; and inputs for considering values in decision making.

The Forest Service has proposed the concept of ecosystem services as a framework for: (1) describing the many benefits provided by public & private forests; (2) evaluating the effects of policy & mgmt. decisions involving public & private forest lands; & (3) advocating the use of economic & market-based incentives to protect private forest lands from development. The concept extends traditional economic theory regarding multiple forest benefits & the use of economic incentives to enhance their provision, by emphasizing ecosystems as an organizing structure for benefits. Although the emphasis on ecosystems is new, challenges in evaluating ecosystem services are similar to those long faced by economists tasked with evaluating forest benefits.

"Ecosystem Services and Management Strategy in China" is a two-year international cooperation project that culminated from the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development’s Task Force on Ecosystem Services and Management. It combines case studies, scenario analysis, and stakeholder consultations that focus on Chinese forest, grassland and wetland ecosystems and assesses the economic and social benefits of sustainable ecosystems management. It also identifies better practices in ecosystem management from Chinese and international experience and recommends a more intensive integration of ecosystem services into decision-making processes. In November 2010, the Task Force presented five strategic policy proposals for the implementation of sustainable management for Chinese ecosystems. These proposals were extremely well-received by senior decision makers and have since been adopted by national government agencies. The book represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working in related areas. Professor Yiyu Chen worked as president at the National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2004 to early 2013 and is Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Beate Jessel works as president at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany. Professor Bojie Fu works at the Research Center of Eco-Environment Sciences, CAS and is Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Professor Xiubo Yu works at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr.Jamie Pittock is a Senior Lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia.